"When you read well, you hear how the parts work together. Once you can do that, you can create writing from parts to a whole you couldn't imagine before." 

 

At Oldswinford C of E Primary School, we are passionate about the experiences we provide in English for all our pupils. We believe that every child should become a confident reader, thoughtful writer and articulate speaker. Through rich texts, engaging lessons and a love of language, we inspire children to communicate with confidence and enjoy reading for pleasure.

Reading 

We want our children to develop a love for literature and to become responsible readers, appreciating and understanding diversity in our world through varied and frequent reading. We want them to have a passion for books and to see that books provide knowledge, relaxation, escapism, vocabulary, imagination and enjoyment while simultaneously helping children to boost their own mental health and wellbeing. It is our intent for all our pupils to read fluently and confidently in any subject by the time they are ready to move to secondary school and to become adept at talking deeply about books.

We teach early reading through Rocket Phonics, a systematic synthetic phonics programme. Children from Reception to Year 2 have daily phonics sessions and are taught how to apply their phonic skills and achieve effective blending through our reading scheme - Rising Stars. The focus in Reception, Y1 and Y2 is to develop strong phonological knowledge and understanding so that children can read a range of books with increasing confidence and skill which are closely matched to the GPC's they are learning. Children in Reception and Y1 use Target Practice reading books to achieve this.

Children in Y2-Y6 take part in daily whole-class reading sessions. We follow the Comprehension Crusher reading scheme where lessons promote the importance of fluency, vocabulary and domain-specific skills. Children are taught through a range of strategies, such as modelled reading, choral and echo reading as well as timed reading, summarising and question analysis. We support children’s reading development by exposing them to varied texts and therefore varied vocabulary, genres, themes, and perspectives. It strengthens comprehension, encourages critical thinking, builds background knowledge, and helps children develop confidence and enjoyment as readers.

We assess reading through ongoing formative and summative assessments (PIRA) and regular reading observations. We evaluate pupils’ decoding, fluency, comprehension, vocabulary and ability to respond to a range of texts. Assessment information is used to identify strengths, address gaps, and plan appropriate next steps for each learner. The Comprehension Crusher scheme aligns with the requirements of the National Curriculum. The progression of skills within and across the units is available at the bottom of this page.

Every class teacher reads to their class on a daily basis. Children love these daily reading for pleasure sessions and talk so positively about them. Teachers enjoy this protected time to model reading, promote reading for pleasure and to experience the benefits that reading brings, such as vocabulary enrichment, knowledge of the world, relaxation and improved well-being. (Further information below). 

Phonics

Reading at home

We work closely with our families to promote the joy and importance of supporting reading at home. We encourage reading for pleasure, such as bedtime stories, parents modelling reading to their children, use of local libraries and any related reading challenges. We also provide updated information on new book releases, seasonal recommendations, age and topic-specific titles that may pique our children's interest.  These updates are shared via Class Dojo to support our parents and children.

Children have access to a range of reading materials at Oldswinford. 

• They all have a home reading book which is matched to their individual reading level / ability. The expectation is that all children read to an adult at home every day with comments being written into their reading record book.  
• Each classroom has a reading incentive to promote and recognise regular reading at home. Parents understand the importance of their role in their child's reading journey and this is promoted by class teachers on a regular basis. 
• Children who are on the Phonics pathway (EYFS and Y1) also have a school-based reading book (Target Practice books). These books are fully decodable and used in line with our Systematic Synthetic Phonics programme (Rocket Phonics). They provide children with daily opportunities to revisit and apply the GPC's that they have been taught to date, whereby if an adult is not present, they are not forced to guess from pictures, content or the first letters of a word or its shape. This ensures that our children feel a sense of achievement with their reading.  
• Children are also invited to borrow books for pleasure from their class reading areas, book swap boxes or the main school library. Children are encouraged by school staff to select books that are suitable for their age / ability but that also interest and intrigue them.  

Reading for Pleasure

At Oldswinford, we believe that reading for pleasure is fundamental to developing confident, successful and lifelong readers. We are passionate about creating a culture where books and stories are valued, shared and enjoyed by every child.

Children are immersed in a rich reading environment where they have regular opportunities to discover new authors, explore a wide range of genres and develop their own reading preferences. We want every child to see themselves as a reader and experience the enjoyment, imagination and curiosity that books can inspire.

Every class enjoys a daily story time, where teachers share carefully chosen texts, introduce children to new authors and model the joy of reading aloud. These shared reading experiences allow children to encounter vocabulary and ideas beyond their own experiences, while developing a deeper appreciation of language and storytelling.

Across the school, we promote a strong reading community through our reading buddies and reading ambassadors. Older and younger children have opportunities to share books together, discuss their favourite stories and encourage one another to develop a love of reading. Our reading ambassadors play an important role in celebrating books, recommending texts and inspiring others.

Classes have regular access to the library, providing opportunities to browse, select and enjoy books independently. Our classrooms also include dedicated reading areas, designed to create inviting spaces where children can relax, explore books and develop their independence as readers.

We value the important role that families play in developing a love of reading. Through parental support and engagement, we encourage families to read regularly with children, talk about books and celebrate reading at home. We regularly share recommended reads for different year groups on Class Dojo. These recommendations support children and families in discovering new authors and books to enjoy together.

Throughout the year, we celebrate reading through book fairs, assemblies and themed reading events such as author visits. These opportunities allow children to share their enthusiasm for books and recognise reading as something to be enjoyed by the whole school community.

Reading Ambassadors

We are very proud of our team of Reading Ambassadors and Reading Buddies at Oldswinford. They are a group of enthusiastic Year 5 and 6 children who are keen to spread their love of reading around our school! The Reading Ambassadors work closely with Mrs Dunn to promote new reading initiatives across school. They may lead a school assembly with an author focus, run book clubs in the library or promote soon-to-be-released titles to our families. Our Reading Buddies work closely each week with a small group of individuals in each class (Y1-Y3) who require additional reading experiences. Our Reading Buddies visit their group each week. They listen to them read and help them to develop further confidence and a love for reading. It is so wonderful to see our older pupils supporting and encouraging our younger pupils. 

Writing

We want our children to have passion and enthusiasm for writing; where their ideas are valued, and they pursue purposeful and authentic writing projects for real audiences. We aim for them all to write clearly, accurately, and coherently, adapting their language and style as necessary. We develop skills progressively so that our pupils have the stamina and ability to write at or above the expected standard.

We aim for all children to know exactly what is expected of them and their writing. To support children in developing as independent writers, we provide a wide range of opportunities, including drama and role play, modelled, shared and guided writing, peer/self-editing and discussion. We believe that all children should be encouraged to take pride in the presentation of their writing and aim to develop a legible, joined handwriting style. We want our children to understand that all good writers refine and edit their writing before producing a final published copy. Therefore, we want our children to develop independence in being able to identify their own areas for improvement in a piece of writing and edit their work during and after the writing process. It is our intent for all our pupils to become creative and confident writers by the time they are ready to move to secondary school.

We follow the award-winning Ready Steady Write from Literacy Counts to develop confident, independent and successful writers with high aspirations. Our writing curriculum is research-informed and impact-proven, carefully designed to support all children to master the foundational skills and write for a clear audience and purpose. Through the use of high-quality, vocabulary-rich texts, we provide exciting and meaningful reasons to write. Children are immersed in literature and taught to craft their writing with precision, using a range of pedagogical approaches, including sentence accuracy, modelled writing and shared writing, as well as regular opportunities for editing. We value spoken language as a foundation for writing. Through structured talk, drama and vocabulary exploration, children learn how to organise and express their ideas clearly before writing them down.  We want our pupils to leave primary school as enthusiastic writers, ready for the next stage of their education. 

Each writing unit follows the following structure:

• Immerse / Jump in – Before beginning a writing unit, all children are immersed in rich examples of writing. They explore vocabulary, text structures and author choices, developing an understanding of what makes a piece of writing effective.
• Analyse / Look - Children explore how authors create impact and identify techniques they can use in their own writing.
• Plan / Say and Plan - Children are taught that successful writers plan carefully before writing. They are taught to select precise and ambitious words, using discussion, reading and exploration of language to expand their vocabulary choices. They are taught to organise ideas, consider their audience and make decisions about vocabulary and structure.
• Write / Say and Write - Children write for a range of audiences and purposes. Children understand that professional writers refine their work. Editing and improving are embedded into our writing lessons, enabling pupils to evaluate and enhance their own writing. We aim to celebrate writing outcomes in a variety of ways, such as publishing examples on Class Dojo, the school website, through open events, displays, class anthologies or sending them directly to the intended audience. 

Every English lesson in our school starts with a daily sentence accuracy task. They encompass word, sentence, and punctuation learning activities from the statutory National Curriculum programme of study for writing and Appendix 2 (Vocabulary, grammar and punctuation). This daily practice helps build fluency and stamina for writing.

Writing is assessed through ongoing observation, marking and reviewing children’s written work against agreed assessment criteria. We use standardised materials to support accurate judgements and identify children’s strengths and next steps. Termly moderation meetings take place within and across phases to ensure consistency, share best practice and ensure writing assessments are reliable and accurate.

Kinetic Letters

Kinetic Letters® is a handwriting programme that children begin as soon as they start in EYFS. 

It consists of four main threads:

• Making bodies stronger
• Holding the pencil
• Learning the letters
• Flow and fluency

It enables children to develop legible handwriting that is produced quickly and automatically. With the development of automaticity, handwriting becomes a valuable tool and not a barrier to learning.

Strength: Writing is a fine finger operation; children must have core body and arm strength to be able to control their fingers precisely.

Pencil hold: The pencil/pen grip must be comfortable to allow writing for long periods. Tripod grip is the desired pencil grip. 

 

Letter formation: The movements to form the letters begin with whole body movements and progress through writing in sand trays to writing on whiteboards and finally writing on paper. In Kinetic Letters®, all the letters and numbers are formed by one of two monkeys. Either a brave monkey who starts at the top branch of the tree or a scared monkey who starts at the lower branch. 

 

Flow and fluency: Letter movements are minimised to help a fast writing style to develop. There are no lead-in strokes (as this wastes time and effort).

Letters are taught through one of six letter families.

The Jumper Family

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Abracadabra Family 

The Window Cleaner Family

The Fisher Family

Special Squirter Family

The Slider Family

Essential Spelling and Word Knowledge

We use an evidence-backed spelling programme called Essential Spelling and Word Knowledge in Y3-Y6. It is a programme that develops pupils' understanding of how words work, rather than simply learning to spell a list of words. The programme uses a combination of phonology (sounds in words), morphology (how words are built) and etymology (where words come from) to help children recognise patterns in the English language. Pupils explore root words, prefixes and suffixes to develop an understanding of how words are constructed, how their meanings are connected and how patterns can be applied to new words. 

There are three spelling sessions taught per week. Each week a new focus morpheme is introduced. The children are taught how to build onto this focus morpheme e.g. by adding a prefix or a suffix to create new words. The children have repeated opportunities to explore, practise and apply their knowledge. Morpheme grids are used to provide a clear and visual way for children to see how the words are built using different parts. We explicitly teach the meaning of each word part before showing the children how they can be combined to create complete words. 

Teachers assess the children's understanding of what has been taught at the end of each term. This enables teachers to monitor progress and identify any gaps in learning quickly. Children are then given further spelling support if required. 

It is our aim to ensure that all children develop secure spelling skills alongside a deeper understanding of word meaning and vocabulary.   

Doodle Spell

Doodle Spell is used by class teachers (Y1-Y6) to send home weekly spellings. This learning platform uses a combination of teacher-assigned tasks as well as an algorithm to generate specific spellings that are aligned personally to the individual learner. Children are encouraged to work through the Doodle Spell challenges little and often by completing 5-10 minutes each day in order to stay in their green learning zone. Doodle Spell runs regular spelling competitions and incentives to encourage children to learn and love spelling! Many of our pupils earn themselves Doodle pin badges when they complete these spelling challenges. 

English Documents